The Libra, The Unclaimed
by ToReadandWrite
Summary: As strange mysteries unravel among the stars, others unravel on earth. And six half-bloods will discover more about the world, about their friends, and about themselves. Disregards The Last Hero.


The rosy light was rising in an arc to the heavens, showering rays of dawn through the camp. The camp was quiet: a few in the arena, some walking along through the grounds, but most sound asleep in their cabins. I was sitting by Thalia's pine, watching the sun rise over Half-Blood Hill. But then, somewhere down the hill, I saw a figure slowly crawling up the hill, then collapsing, then slowly crawling again- only a weak gray shape among the dewy grass. My eyes widened- I drew my spear, looking anxiously for any (more? was this a monster too?) monsters. But there were none... at least excluding this mysterious figure.

I winced again as the figure collapsed again and a cry of pain echoed over the grass- but I wasn't allowed past Thalia's pine! If any monsters showed, I'd ignore the rule. 'Come on,' I thought. 'Just a little further...'

The figure was in close view now. Tangled blond hair, torn gray clothes... it was a girl. But what had happened to her?  
And now the girl was pulling herself over the boundary, gasping, her gray eyes turned to my brown ones. "Is it safe?" she breathed.

"You're safe," I said, and the girl passed out, her eyes rolling back into her head. I gingerly lifted her arm and found her pulse. Then I called, and my voice echoed over the grounds.

--

"Tell me how you found her," Chiron said, watching the new half-blood turn in her sleep.

"Well, I was sitting on the hill and I saw her crawling up- stumbling, a little. I wanted to help but-" I hesitated, guiltily, "I really wanted to help but didn't think I'd be allowed. So..."

"But you say there were no monsters," Chiron said, looking me in the eye.

"There weren't," I said evenly.

"And she looks older... which means a god did not claim her."

"I don't know- we can ask for her story when she wakes up."

Chiron looked back at the girl. "Well, I think you did right."

"I did?" I brightened as the centaur nodded. "Hey, I could watch her if you want to tell the rest of camp."

"Thanks, Shaheen," he replied, and I watched as he galloped away.

The girl was stirring in her sleep. "I promise..." she was whispering, over and over. "I swear, I will..."

'Poor girl...' I wondered. 'What she must have been through...' I looked up as other campers trickled in- Percy, Annabeth, the Stoll brothers, some of the satyrs, Katie, Lee, Chris, Clarisse, Courtney, Brian, Dean, Jack... the list went on and on as more campers came in. "What are you all doing here?" I asked, trying to be cheerful. Usually so many campers didn't show when a new one turned up.

"Chiron told us it was a strange case," Dean said. "What with her being older, and hurt..."

"Did he send a message to the gods, about an unclaimed half-blood?"

"I did," Annabeth said. "But Hermes might be busy... I don't know. This whole thing is so weird."

"Like, more than what we said already?" I asked, but Annabeth shook her head and stayed silent. I opened her mouth to ask why she couldn't tell, but Annabeth was whispering something in Percy's ear and then they were rushing out the door.

"She's opening her eyes!" Someone screamed. I snapped back to the girl and sure enough, she was waking.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I could hear the urgency in my own voice- for some reason I knew that this was no laughing matter.

"Wh-where am I?" She asked, obviously disoriented. Her eyes darted all around the room- to her healed wounds, her new clothes, the group of people crowded around her. She furrowed her brow, searching my face for an answer.

Now that she was clean, I could see that she had soft, pale features, and light sandy hair- she was small and slight, but probably at least fifteen. Her eyes were a pale gray. Nothing about her was bold, nothing stood out. And yet she had turned the whole camp upside down.

I tried to figure out how I would explain this to her. "You're somewhere safe," I began. "You're at camp."

She brightened slightly, but her eyes were still narrowed, still suspicious. "Camp Half-Blood?" She asked.

"Yes," I said. So how much did she know? My mind was racing. She knew about camp, she brought herself here... "Did you have a satyr?"

"No," she said slowly. But she knew what a satyr was.

"Please, tell me how you got here. From the beginning."

"The beginning..." she sighed. "Well, I lived in an orphanage. From when I was a baby, I don't remember... It was a good one, though. I don't think I had any less of a normal life than I would have if... well, I went to a public school, a normal school. But- when I turned thirteen, monsters started appearing... and I could tell they came for me."

"We found a celestial bronze knife in your possession."

"My..." she hesitated. "I got that later. I stole a fire extinguisher, branches, broken things, poles... I was on my own for a while. Then... I was attacked by a monster I couldn't hold off, or run away from. That's how I found Thomas. He saved me, he and his friends."

"Thomas?" I repeated.

"Yes... they told me about- this world. They were unclaimed, like me. They gave me a knife from one of their fallen."

"Their fallen..." I heard Percy repeat behind me. So they were back from their mysterious run off.

The girl continued. "They helped me. We fought monsters together. They told me about how they were having so much trouble finding Camp Half-Blood. One of their group had seen the camp but found himself blocked out-"

"But that's impossible!" Clarisse yelled. "All half-bloods can find camp and get in. Are you sure they were all half-bloods? That boy was a a half-blood?"

"They seemed to be," she replied defensively. "As much as you, anyway. But they thought I might try to get into Camp... that there was something different about me- subtle, I guess. Nothing special, just different. So I went off on my own, fought monsters... found camp. But a force was driving me off. It took all my energy to get in."

I was lost in thought. How was this possible? What was wrong?

"What are your powers?" I asked. "What's your name? Do you have any ideas about your godly parent?"

"I... my powers are small. I suppose that was how I was different. I was weaker." Her voice broke a little, and I felt sorry, but I prompted her again. "I can make tricks with the light... Some things with the air, some with water, actually... I learned to fight with my knife. I had thought Apollo once, maybe Poseidon... but nothing fit. The others, too, had strange powers."

"My name," she said, suddenly remembering. "My name is Jeanette. And I remain unclaimed."

I looked out into the crowd, met with wide eyes and furrowed brows. The girl had brought a mystery to camp... a mystery we could not underestimate.

--


End file.
